Councilman Bernard Lawler, on the other hand, said he has confidence the project will move forward. Lawler represents the 5th Ward, where the development is located.

The Smith Village project started in 1998 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but only six homes were completed in the area off Saginaw Street north of 5th Avenue.

Under pressure from the feds to get it done, the city restarted the project last year with federal stimulus funds. The ultimate goal is to build 83 homes, with at least half intended for low-income buyers.

Until last week, the nonprofit Metro Community Development was the project developer, but the city council approved hiring Smith Village Construction Services as the new developer last week on the administration’s recommendation.

Both Eason and the former developer said the recent change won’t stymie the project, but they have very different stories on why the switch was made.

Eason said Metro Community Development walked away from the project.

But Ravi Yalamanchi, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer, said it was the city that dropped Metro Community Development.

Neither side said they have anything in writing to prove their respective cases.

The city brought Metro on as developer in August 2010, approved by Metro’s board of directors and the Flint City Council, but a developer agreement was never executed. The city also recently asked Metro to speak at a May 24 community meeting about Smith Village.

Over the past 11 months, the nonprofit developed design specifications for the homes with an engineer and architect, created a website and branded the project as the “New Smith Village” as part of its marketing efforts, Yalamanchi said.

The nonprofit spent more than $110,000 and made “substantial progress in a period of 10 months, which the city has failed to do over 14 years,” he said.

“We spent the money, we got the work done,” he said. “It was completely on good faith and mutual trust.”

But Eason said Metro decided not to continue with the project, which came as a surprise in the face of the looming deadline. He said Yalamanchi was “pretty adamant” about it.

“Why would we pull out when we need him the most?” Eason said. “I was deeply disappointed.”

The one piece that the city and Metro agree on is that the project needs to move forward.

Despite the disagreement, Yalamanchi said he wants the project to be successful. He said the nonprofit has agreed to hand over all the project materials after the city reimburses it for the expenses.

“In no way are we going to obstruct or hinder the development,” he said. “If that corridor is revitalized, it will be a jump start of revitalization for the northern part of the city, which really needs a lot of revitalization.”

The new developer, Smith Village Construction Services, LLC, was just formed on June 8, according to records on the state’s website.

Eason said one of the company’s executives is Charles Young, who runs Operation Unification, a nonprofit that received a $1.3 million contract to rehabilitate Flint homes through the stimulus-funded Neighborhood Stabilization program.

Attempts to reach Young were unsuccessful.

Metro Community Development was already going to hire Young’s company as the general contractor for the project, said Eason and Yalamanchi.

Yalamanchi declined to comment on the city’s choice for its new developer.

Eason said it just made sense to hire the company, since it was familiar with federally funded projects. The city is also continuing on with the architect, FUNchitecture, and project manager Alan Ogle, he said.

Last week, an attorney spoke to the city council about the switch.

“My understanding is the new developer is ready to hit the ground running,” attorney Pat Parker said.

Flint City Councilman Scott Kincaid questioned whether the switch would delay the project, which has hung over the city’s head for more than a decade.

“This is a time sensitive project,” Kincaid said.

Eason said there would be “no delay whatsoever.

In addition to the commitment to build 25 homes by the end of the year, the city has a goal of selling those 25 homes by year’s end, too, he said.

“I’m excited about this,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity in a long time for the city to have high quality affordable housing right in the core of the city.”